Independence Day #RI70

It’s Monday, at last, and a lot of things have happened these past days.

Last week our head of administration, Ms V, had an issue with the internet connection at one of the teachers’ houses and she didn’t have time for it because she is such a busy woman! So I helped her fix it. What happened next might get you jealous! She brought me some pizzas and nachos! What a lovely day! I LOVE PIZZAS SO MUCH!

Do you guys remember B? A few days ago I spoke to Ms V about his situation and she told me that B’s parents are extremely busy with their jobs they cannot take care of him, and that his nanny is taking care of almost everything. I’m not judging here but it’s just sad that some people are still blinded by worldly, materialistic possessions and equate them to happiness and fulfilment, even put them ahead of their own innocent child. Sometimes I just don’t get it. I’ve made my commitment to help him overcome his learning barriers and provide motivational support. Wish me luck!

We also talked about things that make a great teacher. I have narrowed down the most essential characteristics of a great teacher to so-called 3P’s, which stand for priority, punctuality and professionalism. As an educator, the students are obviously my top priority. Whilst a good teacher’s primary concern is education, a great one is playing other roles as well, such as advisory, counsellor, disciplinarian, and friend. Then teaching comes to a close second. Well, teachers spend most of their day delivering lessons and working with curricula and lesson plans, and all those things require dedication. So far, this is the only ‘P’ I need to work on.

A great teacher also has to master time management, whether it’s simply coming to the classrooms on time, or scheduling built-in overflow time. By being punctual, I can end tasks on time so I can do a better work for the other upcoming tasks. And last but not least, a great teacher must build and maintain professionalism—dress well, prepare well, and most importantly, behave well. A good teacher teaches the subject matter: science, maths, languages, but a great one teaches what matters: discipline, confidence, passion. I really learned so much from that conversation. In fact, I learn new things every day and that’s something to be grateful for!

We’ve just had a flag-raising ceremony at the school this morning. Every Kallistan; students, teachers, staff and even the janitors participated. Although, one of the flag raisers face planted during the speech, everything went pretty well… kind of. Happy Independence Day, everyone. Be proud and celebrate the day! #RI70